They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven: A Dream, A Team, and My Comeback Season

Ken Baker wanted nothing more than to play ice hockey with the pros--until a brain tumor cut his dreams short while in college.

Long Synopsis:

Ken Baker wanted nothing more than to play ice hockey with the pros--until a brain tumor cut his dreams short while in college. After surgery and several years of rehab, Baker, who in high school was a top prospect for the U.S. Olympic team, put his successful journalism career on hold to attempt the seemingly impossible: a comeback. He moved away from his family to become the third-string goalie for the Bakersfield Condors, an AA-level minor-league team in the dusty oil town of Bakersfield, California. At the age of thirty-one, Baker became the oldest rookie in all of pro-hockey, facing 1000-m.p.h. slap shots and long bus rides, hostile fans and cheap motel rooms, body bruises and battle-worn teammates.